Replacement for Husq 350?

So I finally killed it, or at least damaged it to such a point that it might kill me. After years of abuse, some intentional, some in ignorance, it's time to replace my Husqvarna 350. I've stripped the cylinder muffler threads so often than even the helicoil won't hold for more than a few minutes, but more seriously now, it's not dropping to idle. Given the state it's in, any money spent on professional repair would still only return me a badly abused saw, better to spend that money on a new one.

What should I do? I can't really fault the 350 for it's failures, I did not treat it well, but it started easily, handled well and was enough saw for my needs. I'm tempted to buy the same again since I have lots of spare parts, but would I be better off with something else?

What are the alternatives? I promise to treat any new saw better than the last one.

TE

TimfromMA said:

I bought a Husqvarna 350 after mother nature decided to park a maple tree on my roof. Since then, I've removed a dozen or so trees from my property.

Click to expand...

Same here, see my avatar....zero research went into purchasing that saw, it was the only one left in the store the morning after a microburst hit the area.

I've never had the slightest problem starting it, 4 pulls would be 2 more than it usually takes. It still runs fine, the problem is that muffler threads are stripped, the case is badly melted from the muffler coming loose so much, and now it won't run down to idle, with no hand on the throttle it's at about 50% speed, chain still spinning. I can handle inconvenience of the muffler, but not a spinning chain. It just doesn't seem worthwhile to pay to have it repaired, and I can't figure out myself what's wrong, even though I'm usually good with these things.

TE

yes, air leak is the googled consensus, but I can't find it in the typical locations. Thanks for the model recommendations.

TE

Aw, now you've made me go take it all apart and look! I can't resist the challenge to fix something, especially one that does not require buying any parts.

TE

Jon1270 said:

When my 350 developed an air leak it was between the plastic chassis and the riser block under the cylinder. The two are held together by 4 screws that are only accessible if you pull the whole gas tank / handle assembly off of the saw. One of those screws had loosened and fallen out.

Click to expand...

That was it! Not fallen out, not even very loose, but obviously loose enough. Putting that gas return line back wasn't fun...

Darn, now I'm stuck with no excuse to buy a new saw, but I've had enough of that muffler, time to drill it out for larger bolts.

TE

"Well" is a relative term, I haven't tried it with on real wood yet (no sharp chains), but it sounds much, much better!
I suspect that leak has been affecting power for longer that it was affecting the idle. I may need to adjust the carb.
With all these thunderstorms delivering small loads of fresh oak firewood onto my lawn and driveway every few weeks, it shouldn't be long before I need it.

Thanks again

TE